Grommet securing mechanism



April 19, 1938 LEV|N 2,114,983

GROMMET SECURING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 12, 1957 INVENTOR. J0 sap/J L EPatented Apr. 19, 1938 GROMMET SECURING MECHANISM Joseph Levin,Lancaster, Pa., assignor to Umbrella Machinery Corp, Inc., New York, N.Y.,

a corporation of New York Application January 12, 1937, Serial No.120,164

1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in a topping mechanism for use inthe construction and assembling of umbrella covers on the shanks of theumbrellas.

In the construction of umbrella covers it is common practice to form thecover of a plurality of gores. These gores come to a common meetingpoint at the center of the umbrella cover. At the central point anopening is formed to permit the passage of the umbrella shank. It iscommon practice in the art to reinforce the umbrella cover about thisopening by means of a metallic ring or grommet. A common method ofreinforcing the umbrella cover has been by sewing the grommet orreinforcing ring to the umbrella cover. This process has proved to beboth costly and time consuming. Furthermore, if it became necessary torepair the umbrella cover, the removal of a damaged gore and replacementby another gore proved to be a difficult task.

Applicant has overcome the objections outlined above by the use of aspecial grommet construction for reinforcing the central opening in theumbrella cover. The application of this special grommet to the umbrellacover is simple, requires very little skill, and can be done in aminimum of time. Applicant has devised a new method of assembling theumbrella cover and this special grommet structure. The relationship ofthe parts is such that should it become necessary to replace a damagedgore the same can be done in a few seconds by clipping the grommet,removing the damaged gore, and providing a new grommet in place of theone clipped. Such a replacement process requires but a few minutes oftime as compared with prior art devices where hand stitching wasnecessary to position the reinforcing grommet in the umbrella cover.

Another object of my invention is the provision of special die mechanismwhich enables the quick assembly of the grommet structure in itsrelationship to the umbrella cover. The use of these dies for attachingthe grommet to the umbrella cover is known in the art as the operationof topping. By the use of these dies and the particular construction ofthe grommets, it is possible to facilitate this operation of toppingconsiderably over the operation of the prior art.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, an embodiment thereof isshown in the drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of a press for applying the grommets to theumbrella cover;

Fig. 2 is a view in sectional elevation showing the relative positionsof the die member and the press member for applying the grommets to theumbrella cover;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a grommet, shown as it is applied to anumbrella cover about its aper ture;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the grommet structure shown in assembledrelationship, and;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the ring members comprising the grommetstructure before they have been assembled.

In Fig. 1 a pressing machine is shown having a bed i which is adapted toreceive' a die, shown generally as 23. The bed I also supports astandard 2 which has attached at one end the sleeve member 3. As shownin Fig. 2, the sleeve member 3 slidably supports the hollow actuatingrod 4. The rod 4 has the yoke 6 at its upper end for supporting bearingroller 'l by means of the bearing pins 8. The hollow portion 20 of therod 4 houses a portion of the pressing member indicated generally as ll.The pressing member H has a narrow tubular stem l2 which extends intothe hollow housing Zil, as shown in Fig. 2. The stem i2 is fixedlyassociated with the rod 4 by means of a set screw I9. I The lowerportion of the pressing member l i is enlarged as represented bycharacter l3. The interior of the pressing member 13 is hollow toreceive a holding member generally indicated as It. This holding memberl4 has a base portion l5 closelyfitting within the hollow space is, anda rod portion 15 which extends through the tubular portion l2 as shownin Fig. 2. The top of the. rod 55 has fixedly attached thereto a nut,indicated as 22. Positioned between this nut and the upper wall. of therod 4 is a compression spring 2!, which normally retains the holdingmember It in a projected position as shown in Fig. 2. In contact withthe roller l is an actuating cam 9, which when rotated by the actuating.lever l0 lowers the rodi against the compression of the spring 5.

Cooperating with the pressing member H and the holding member I4 is adie member generally, indicated as 23. This die member has a lowerportion 24 to be inserted for positional engagement into the bed l ofthe machine. The upper portion of the die is enlarged as shown bycharacter 25. The die is designed in the form of a channel 28 for apurpose to be later described.

Adjacent to the channel at one extremity is a seat 29, whereas at theother extremity of the channel there is a seat 21. Extending upwardlyfrom the seat 21 is a guide pin 26 for cooperative engagement with arecess I! in the releasing member l4.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show my specific construction of the reinforcinggrommet which is used with the umbrella construction. As shown in Fig. 5this grommet comprises two metallic ring members 30 and 3|. The ringmember 3!! has extended therefrom the prongs 32. The interior diameterof the ring member .3! is of such a diameter that the ring may beslipped over the prongs. When the grommet structure is in assembledrelationship with respect to the umbrella cover, the prongs 32 piercethe material of the umbrella. As shown in Fig. 3, said prongs are bentbeneath the lower ring 3|,so as to maintain the lower ring 3| inclamping engagement with the upper ring 35. The material of the umbrellacover 33 is thus clamped between the rings 36 and 3|, and is alsomaintained in position by the piercing prongs 32 as shown in Fig. 3.

The operation of applying the reinforcing grommets to the umbrella coveris known in the art as topping. This operation is simplified inapplicants case by a new method of assembling the grommet with respectto the umbrella cover.

As shown in Fig. 2, the lower ring 3| of the grommet structure ispositioned on the seat 29 of the die 23. The upper pronged ring 3!! ofthe grommet structure is then slipped over the projected holding memberHi. The dimensional relationship of the ring 38 and the holding memberI4 is such that the ring 38 is frictionally held in position as shown inFig. 2. The conventional umbrella cover comprising a plurality of goreswith a common central opening to receive the shank of an umbrella, isthen positioned over the die 23 and the seated lower ring 3|, so thatthe material of the cover 33 completely covers the ring 3|. The operatorthen actuates the lever Ill in a counter-clockwise direction and throughthe medium of the actuating cam S and roller 1 the pressing element H islowered. The pressing member H, the releasing element M and the prongedring 30, are lowered as a unit until the holding member it engages uponthe seat 21 of the die 23. When this position is reached, the guidefinger 26 is completely housed within a recess H. A subsequent downwardmovement of the rod l then causes the pressing member I i to continueits downward movement, whereas the holding member M remains relativelystationary and becomes housed within the space l8 of the pressingmernber H. When the holding member is completely housed within the spaceIS, the pronged ring 30 is released. During this operation the prongs 32have pierced the umbrella cover 33 which extends interiorly of the lowerring 3| and have been brought into direct engagement with the curvedsurface 28 of the die 23. The surface is of such a design that theprongs 32 are spread outwardly due to the pressure exerted by thedownwardly moving pressing element As the prongs 32 spread outwardlytheir extremities engage beneath the lower ring 3 1. Thus it is seenthat as the upper ring 30 moves down into engagement with the lower ring3!, the

prongs 38 pierce through the intermediate material of the umbrella cover33, engage the curved surface 28 of the die, and are spread intoengaging position with the undersurface of the lower ring 3|. At thesame time the upper ring 30 has been completely released from theholding member l4 due to the retraction of the member l4 into the hollowhousing l8.

My operation is exceedingly simple and rapid and doesnot require theservices of skilled operators. signed for the method of assembly asdisclosed, so that the upper ring 39 might become automatically releasedwhen it is brought into cooperative relation with the lower ring 3|. Theprocesses heretofore employed of attaching the grommet structure to theumbrella cover by means of stitching require considerably more time.'With my construction, the repair of theumbrella cover 33 whichnecessitates the removal of a grommet can readily be accomplished byclipping the lower ring 3| and removing the same. The material 33 of theumbrella cover is'then slipped off of the prongs 32 and repaired. Therepaired cover 33 is then given a new reinforcing grommet memher by theprocess disclosed above. 7

While I have disclosed my invention in but a single embodiment, it isapparent to those skilled in the art that other equivalent structuresmight readily be employed. The scope of my invention is defined by thefollowing claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a topping mechanism for the purpose set forth, a vertically movable,suspended, spring enclosing hollow element closed at its upper end andopen at its lower end, a pressing member bodily carried with saidelement and having an enlarged,

cup-shaped lower portion, a suspended, spring controlled holding memberextending through the pressing member and being normally projected fromthe lower portion of the said latter member, said holding member beingformed with a stop coacting with the pressing member for limiting theprojected movement of the holding member relative to the pressingmember, said holding member having its lower end axially thereof formedwith a tapered socket, and a stationary element aligning with andnormally spaced from said members, said stationary element having its 7top formed respectively with a tapered guide pin axially thereof forpassage into said tapered socket, an inner, annular, flat seatsurrounding the lower end of said pin, an outer, annular, fiat seatarranged below and spaced from the inner seat and an annular channelarranged between said seats, the side walls of said channel being ofdifferent heights, the side wall of greater height merging into theouter side of said inner seat, the

side wall of smaller height merging into the inner side of the outerseat, and actuatable cam means engageable with the top of said hollowelement for lowering the latter and the members associated therewithrelative to the stationary element.

JOSEPH LEVIN.

The dies employed are particularly de-

